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Tuesday, March 4, 2008

I've Got a Secret with guests John Cale and Karl Schenzer (1963)

From the YouTuber who uploaded this gem:

"John Cale was the guest on this September 16, 1963 episode of I've Got a Secret. His secret centered around his participation in an 18 hour piano playing marathon that was the first full length performance of Erik Satie's "Vexations". (Not mentioned, John Cage was also one of the pianists.) Also on stage was Off- Broadway actor, Karl Schenzer, who's secret was that he was the only person to stay for the entire concert performance."

Hello,I am the person who posted this video of John Cale on YouTube - I'm glad you found it interesting - It would be a good idea to update the information I posted for it as I have added some things and clarified others -

thank you so much for posting this weirdly wonderful moment of television and music history!!! being a fan of john cale and erik satie it sounds oddly appropriate to see this happen in such strange circustances. the often oddball humour in satie's work is obviously boosted by the stiffness with which john cale does his part in this skittish performance

Bravo! What a find! I knew 'Vexations' had a performance in 1963, but I never realised it got this much coverage, making it onto a mainstream television gameshow. Can you imagine an underground avant-garde feat like this getting coverage on a mainstream American program today? God, they're all too busy pointing cameras up Brittney and Lindsay's bumholes!

About Me

My long awaited book about comedy will be published by Grove Atlantic in 2015.
Longtime contributor to WFMU and CBC. Cited by Vanity Fair, GQ, The Guardian, The Globe and Mail, The Onion, Salon, Slate, Atlantic Monthly, BoingBoing, Comedy Central, Dangerous Minds, WTF with Marc Maron, The New York Times, Vice etc.